After Schabas, Watchdog Demands UN Probe Itself

The UN should launch an immediate investigation into corruption and immorality in its own ranks, says NGO Monitor.

Gil Ronen, 03/02/15 14:03

Prof. Gerald Steinberg

Yoni Kempinski

The appointment and resignation of William Schabas from the UN Human Rights Council's Commission of Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza Conflict is a symptom of corruption and immorality in the United Nations and other platforms for anti-Israel demonization, warned Jerusalem-based research institute NGO Monitor Tuesday.

The United Nations should suspend its investigation into Israel and immediately investigate the disturbing revelations of its own incompetence and bias, it added.

"The damage has been done. William Schabas, whose bias against Israel was well established, should never have been appointed in the first place," said Prof. Gerald Steinberg, president of NGO Monitor. "Since the Commission has completed its fact-finding stage, the final report will be tainted by Schabas' leadership until this point."

The revelation that Schabas previously did legal work for the PLO raises numerous questions, which should be publically and transparently addressed by the UNHRC, said NGO Monitor:

What other conflicts of interest did Schabas not disclose?

What connections and consultancies did Schabas have with politicized NGOs such as Amnesty International and what role did these NGOs have in the UN "investigation"?

How did the UN's vetting process fail? According to news reports, Schabas "was not asked to detail his consultancy work when he was appointed."

If UN officials were previously aware of Schabas' connections to the PLO, why was this information not disclosed earlier?

"Before there is further embarrassment, the Commission should disband immediately," continued Prof. Steinberg. "From the beginning, the Commission's mandate was part of the campaign to single out of Israel through the exploitation of human rights and international law. The Human Rights Council failed to learn the lessons from Judge Goldstone's denunciation of his own pseudo-investigation in 2009."